The Extraordinary Kate Beckett
by Pinkqueen
Summary: Hours later, none of them had gone home. Some were just sitting there; hands clenched together, heads down. One was pacing around the room. Two were leaning against a wall. None of them dared speak. My take on the S4 premiere, written before it aired.


**A/N: Hey Castle fans! As of today, 6/26/11 there are 85 days until season 4 premiers, and 86 until season 3 comes out on DVD. I know I can't wait with a cliffhanger like that. This is my take on how season 4 will begin. I like to think I stayed in character pretty well.**

**Disclaimer: As much as I would love it, I don't own Castle. If I did, they would've been married by season 2.**

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><p>The ER doors burst open in New York Presbyterian Hospital. The woman on the gurney was unconscious, but her pulse was steady. Her friends and family had been told to wait in the lobby until she had come out of surgery.<p>

Hours later, none of them had gone home. Some were just sitting there; hands clenched together, heads down. One was pacing around the room. Two were leaning against a wall. None of them dared speak.

The doctor walked in and they all looked at him, waiting for him to speak. "Well, Kate is a very lucky woman," he finally said, looking at his clipboard. "She's expected to make a full recovery, but she needs her rest now. You can come see her in the morning."

Breaths were released and some "Thank God"s were uttered. It was getting late, at this point it was past three in the morning, and they had jobs to go to. Martha took Alexis, who had fallen asleep in the waiting room, home, and promised Rick she would let her know the good news. Ryan and Jenny left, followed by Esposito and Lanie. The only ones left were Castle and Kate's father.

"I'm sorry," Rick started, "I tried to talk to her, but I may have just fueled her on. I just-"

"Rick, you can't blame yourself," he interrupted. "This would've happened weather you gave her a speech, or barely said two words to her. We should all get some sleep. See you in the morning." With that Jim Beckett turned and walked out of the lobby, looking back once in the direction of his daughter's room.

Rick knew he wouldn't be able to sleep that night. He sat down in one of the chairs in the lobby and texted Martha, saying he wouldn't be coming home tonight. He put his phone in his pocket and leaned his head against the wall. He couldn't believe what was happening. Just last week, she had been duking it out with murderers and ex-cons like there was no tomorrow. Today, she was lying in a hospital bed.

He closed his eyes for what felt like seconds, but when he opened his eyes it was morning. "I hate when that happens," he thought. He tilted his head from side-to-side, cracking his neck. He wondered why his back hurt so much, and then he remembered. Kate.

He jumped out of his chair and nearly ran over to the receptionist counter. "Excuse me, where is Katherine Beckett's room?" The woman behind the counter did some typing, wrote down a number on the back of a business card and handed it to him. He quickly thanked the woman and set off to find the room.

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><p>Kate woke up to the sound of a steady beep. The previous day's events came rushing back to her. The funeral. The gunshot. The blood. I love you.<p>

Her eyes jerked open. That's the last thing she remembers before she blacked out. He really said it. I love you. She studied her surroundings some more and noticed a certain mystery writer sitting in a chair by the wall staring at his phone. He muttered something about green pigs stealing eggs, so she assumed he was playing Angry Birds. She rolled her eyes. That was just like him. Playing video games in a hospital.

"Are you winning?" she asked groggily. His head jerked up from his phone and his eyes lit up. "Kate! You're awake!" he rushed over to her and planted a kiss on her cheek. "You have no idea how worried I was about you." He went on like that for a while, saying various apologies for their fight and occasionally kissing her cheek.

She couldn't help but smile at how ridiculous he sounded and she laughed. "What's so funny?" He asked, smiling himself. "Quit apologizing! You're acting like you're the one who shot me." She said between laughs.

"Sorry." He said instinctively, earning a glare from Kate. They both laughed.

Secretly, she hoped he would bring up his final words to her. She longed to hear those words escape from his lips once again. She had to bring it up, casually of course. He certainly wouldn't. But how would she start? 'Hey, I heard you confessing your deepest desires before I blacked out. Can I try your Angry Birds app?' No. She couldn't. But she HAD to.

"Ms. Beckett?" a voice called from the door. It was the nurse. "Glad to see you're awake. It's time for your painkillers." She approached with a syringe in her hand. Now that she mentioned it, she did have a slight pain where the bullet hit her. The tip of the needle slipped into the IV tube attached to Kate's arm.

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><p>The medicine set in quickly. However, along with relief came the disorienting effect of the drugs. Soon she was giggling over nothing at all. It reminded Castle of the night they went undercover to help Ryan and Esposito. The night they shared their first kiss. He'd be lying if he said it wasn't kind of a turn-on.<p>

"Rickyyyyyyyy," she practically sang a minute or so after the nurse left. "Can you come over here pretty please?" She beckoned him over with her finger. He complied all-too-willingly, arriving at her side in seconds flat. She started playing with her hair and looked a little guilty. Like a 5 year-old little girl that got lipstick all over the bathroom mirror. "I heard what you said. Before I blacked out." She looked up at him to gauge his reaction.

His eyes got wide and his mouth hung open a little. He managed to find his voice again. "Y-you did?" he stuttered. Best-selling novelist, and yet, the mystery that was Kate always seemed to have him at a loss for words.

She giggled a little at the look on his face, then bit her lip and nodded. "That was very, very nice of you, Ricky." Her voice slurred a little, the side effects of the drugs. Suddenly, her eyes got wide and she sat up. "Oh no! I'm in the hospital," she cried. She looked over at him. "Cassidy, why am I in the hospital?"

"It's 'Castle'," he couldn't help but chuckle at her mispronunciation of his name. "And you're in the hospital because you were shot." His smile faded a little when he had to explain her reason for being there. Even though he knew it wasn't his fault, especially after having it pounded into his head by both Becketts, he still felt terrible.

She slammed her hand down on the bed. She tried, anyways. She barely made a sound. "Who would do such a mean thing?" He smiled at her, gently laying her back down. "Get some rest," he practically whispered. "Thank you, Ricky," she yawned. "I love you." Her eyes fluttered shut and she began to snore softly. He smiled a little wider and gently took her hand.

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><p>Josh was in Sudan, bandaging a kid's arm when he got the call that his girlfriend had been shot. He was on the next plane out of there. By the time he got back to New York, it was mid-afternoon the next day. He showed his medical license to the receptionist and went straight back to Kate's room. He expected to see tubes coming out of her, see her surrounded by family.<p>

He didn't expect to see the writer holding her hand while she slept. "What are you doing here?" he asked, stopping in his tracks and staring at their intertwined fingers.

"You weren't here for her," Rick replied, standing up, but not letting go of her hand, "I figured someone had to be. Kate mentioned you were in Africa." The use of her first name was not lost on Josh. Something had changed.

He threw his jacket on a chair by the door. "Yeah, I was at a free clinic in Sudan," the doctor almost challenged. "I was working with some kids affected by the civil war when I got the call. How is she?"

He let go of Kate's hand, making room for her boyfriend. "She's expected to make a full recovery," he informed. "They came in a while ago and gave her some painkillers. She's been sleeping ever since."

"Thank God," he sighed. "Would you mind going to the cafeteria and getting me some coffee? I want to be alone with Kate. That is, if it's alright with you." The way he said that was almost as if he was testing Rick, seeing if anything was going on between his girlfriend and the writer.

"Of course," he replied, not letting on that he wanted to punch him for not being there for her, "why wouldn't I be?" Not waiting for an answer, he walked out of the room and followed the signs to the cafeteria. As much as he hated doing a favor for him, he could use a little caffeine himself. Josh took his place by Kate's bedside. He took her hand in his and kissed her cheek. She smiled and mumbled something in her sleep.

"Castle…"

Josh let go of her hand and stood up, feeling like he had just been slapped in the face. Did she just say 'Castle'? What was happening here? And, of course, the man in question had chosen that moment to walk through the door, carrying two coffees. "Hey, I didn't know how you liked your coffee, so I just brought you… black?" Josh's look of pure rage and confusion cut his sentence short. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," he replied bitterly, "just wondering why when I kissed her cheek, she said your name!" He was yelling at this point and Kate stirred from the noise. Rick tried to tell him to calm down, that he was waking Kate, but it was to no avail. "Don't tell me to calm down, damn it! Answer me!"

At that moment, she woke up and touched his arm. He shrugged her hand off and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Kate," he started, obviously struggling to control himself, "but I can't play sloppy seconds anymore. It's obvious that there's something going on between you and Writer Boy here, and I won't stand in your way. We're done."

He grabbed his jacket and stormed out. The two left in the room looked at each other in stunned silence. It stayed that way for what felt like forever, until he held out the spare cup in his hand. "Coffee?"

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><p>"What did you say to him?" She took the outstretched coffee and put it on the table next to her. She probably couldn't drink it now, but it would still be good later. Maybe.<p>

"Well," he started, sitting down and sipping his own cup, "the problem here isn't what _I_ said, but rather what _you_ said. You see, while you were asleep, and I was out of the room, Josh kissed you on the cheek. Apparently, and this is where the trouble is, you said _my_ name instead of his." He took a swig of coffee and his face contorted. "This coffee is crap. It tastes like a monkey peed in battery acid."

Her mouth opened a little and her eyes got wide. "Oh." She sighed. "Well, that's… certainly an issue. I'm sorry you had to see that." She pulled her knees in and rested her head on them.

He moved his chair forward and put his hand on her arm. "Hey, it's fine." She looked over at him and saw something in his eyes she'd never seen before; love. "I've been through my fair share of heartbreaks. Hell, I've been divorced _twice_. I get it. You need time."

Kate slowly began to realize that Josh was never there for her, always out helping someone else. And that's nice and all, but sometimes, she wished he was with her. Castle always has been and always will be there for her. No matter what. "Thank you, Castle. That really means a lot." She sighed and lowered her knees, wanting to change the subject. "So, did I say anything crazy when I was on the painkillers?"

He cleared his throat. "Well, you called me Cassidy, for one thing." She smiled at this, and he knew he said the right thing. He was going to tell her about her admission, but not right now. She'd been through a lot. The funeral, the shooting, her boyfriend breaking up with her. It was a lot to deal with.

Besides, he didn't even know if she meant it. People say crazy things when they're on such powerful meds, some of them untrue. Wait, her boyfriend broke up with her because she was dreaming about kissing him. She had said his name in her sleep. She meant it. She loved him.

His heart swelled, and he couldn't resist planting a small kiss on the corner of her mouth. "What was that for?" She wasn't really complaining, just wondering what brought on the desire to make her blush, to make her heart race.

His eyes were sincere as he smiled gently. He shrugged and spoke softly. "Just for being so extraordinary."

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><p><strong>Pretty good, I think. I couldn't kill her, as some other people were doing. I don't have the heart to. <strong>**Also, we all know in the back of our heads that she CAN'T die. It would totally ruin the show. **

**Be sure to review, I need your constructive criticism. :) **


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